Ecological and evolutionary dynamics of the carnivore community in Europe during the last 3 million years

The ecological structure of the carnivore community remained stable during the Late Pliocene – Early Pleistocene period and does not reveal the influence of climate change over the community structure. Important structural changes started during the transition between Early and Middle Pleistocene, marked by extinction of solitary hypercarnivores and increasing of collective hunters' importance with broad range of diet specialization and omnivorous species. There is no clear evidence for coevolution between herbivore and carnivore communities during the Plio-Pleistocene period. Ubiquitous carnivores and herbivores strongly attached to biomes had different eco-physiological strategies and evolutionary constraints that defined their independent evolution. Starting from the Middle Pleistocene, the community of carnivores was dominated by large social predators (Panthera leo, Crocuta crocuta, Canis lupus) that were perfectly adapted to open landscapes and large-sized herbivores. The dispersal of Homo in Eurasia coincided with the absence of omnivorous carnivores in the boreal fauna. The relatively low predator/prey ratio of Middle and Late Pleistocene European fauna and the social habits enabled Homo to join the group of collective predators.